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Pad Thai noodles

By ELISA MALA

This is the third in a series of posts about my month-long stint in Thailand. Here are the first and second parts.

Note: What follows are cultural observations about Thai eating habits. I am neither a physician nor a nutritionist, so please consult your doctor with any questions about your diet.

Despite hailing from New York, land of SoulCycle and supermodels, I’m often surprised by the thinness of Thais. One of my female co-workers divides her time between Bangkok and Boston, and while she usually wears a 2 in the States, skirts that she buys in Thailand are sometimes size extra-large. This is someone who is 5’3” and hardly more than 120 pounds.

The statistics back this up: in a World Factbook survey of obesity rates in 70 countries, Thailand ranked at the bottom, in 60th place. Its obesity rate is higher than in less-developed countries like Laos (#69) and Madagascar (#68), but far lower than in Zimbabwe (#33), stereotypically-thin France (#16) and the United States. (We’re number 6! We’re number 6!).

What do Thais do differently? Well, some factors can’t be controlled:

Good genes: Many Thais are small-boned. Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. But subculture of plastic surgery aside, many Thais who aim to change their bodies accept that they can’t change their body types. A curvy woman expects to become a smaller curvy woman, not a waif. Scrawny dudes who head to muay thai gyms understand that no amount of kickboxing will turn them into the Hulk.

Horrendous weather: In a tropical climate where winter can be 95 degrees, even the biggest food lovers can lose their appetite.

Other choices are yours to make:

Celebrate food! Thais treat food the way that many people treat vacation photos: you bring them out every now and then, have some laughs, and put them away before someone falls asleep. Similarly, food is not an enemy to be avoided at all costs, nor is it an obsession to be tracked and measured all day. It’s just a fun time that might be shared with friends and family. More than the food that Thais actually eat, this non-neurotic approach accounts for the biggest cultural difference.